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This is an edited extract from my book Integral Meditation and it focuses on the development of your power through meditation, related to each of the seven chakras. You can read more about the book here: Integral Meditation.
An ideal model is a realistic picture of what we may be if we fully dedicate ourselves to our spiritual practice. It is a vision of our ideal personality. The work of the Soul and Royal Self is to create a personality that is large, spacious and wise enough to hold the highest spiritual expression. The ideal model helps us to create a whole new personality, or a stage-self, or role. Working with ideal models is typical when working with the idealising river and the sixth ray, which enables the ideal to direct the transformation of our identity.
When we practice integral meditation it involves all levels of energy, from the lowest centre to the highest. In the following section I will discuss how we can increase our power by developing an appropriate ideal model on seven different levels. We may need to increase our overall strength, or perhaps to strengthen a specific area. Using ideal models can help with this. In general, the Soul must be grounded at all energy levels before any kind of spiritual breakthrough can take place at this particular level. The soul works through our chakras and so we must keep them sufficiently developed and purified.
The Root Centre and Power
This centre is linked to our vitality and strength, and ultimately to our survival. If our body is frail and feeble an atmosphere of weakness can form around us, and we will compensate for this elsewhere. We have to take the body seriously; we need strength and good health if we are to actualise our values in the world. Happily, we all have access to as much strength as we might need because we all carry within us archetypes from earlier times when physical strength was necessary for survival.
A strong, vital body radiates power, authority and mastery in our inner and outer worlds. It gives us the stamina needed for real work. Our own strength and health will be reflected in our surroundings. This does not mean having a muscular body, but a strong etheric body. We exude vitality when we are strong and healthy. The higher vision of the root centre is for us to have a vital body in service of the Soul.
Our body may be in such poor health that we cannot practice with the Soul’s ultimate vision for us. In this case, we must instead create an ideal model of good health and work with this. We generate an image of how a healthy body should look, then we meditate on this and slowly include the physical exercises needed to transform our body into that of our image.
The ideal model here is the physically vital human being. The head centre, or “cave”, (the centre of our brain) is the best place for working with the ideal model in meditation. The body is related to the root centre, but we meditate in the cave because our work is to create a new consciousness using material from the three basic elements: body, feelings and thoughts. The cave is the alchemical workshop where we refine and raise the frequency of our physical and psychological energies.
The Sacral Centre and Power
Here we find the power linked to sex and our ability to create intimate relationships. Sexual potency can help us radiate a powerful presence, because when the sacral centre is healthy we feel happy and sensual. This erotic glow is attractive because it suggests vitality and the strength to cope with life. It is linked to the social world because the sacral centre is involved in our communal life. We do not have to be explicitly sexual; the energy is magnetic enough. Happy, confident people who have a healthy sensual life are always attractive. Also linked to this centre is our inner child; here we learn to play with the world.
If this centre is unbalanced we isolate ourselves, fearing and lacking the strength and confidence for intimacy. Others may suspect we are hiding something. Our inner child does not want to play. We cannot truly express ourselves; without a healthy sacral centre we do not feel safe and relaxed. As we relate to others in a separated way, our power in this centre fades. The higher vision of this centre is for us to trust out interaction with others; its ideal model is the playful human being.
The Solar Plexus Centre and Power
Here power is linked to self-confidence. Standing up for ourselves gives us confidence in our powers. When this centre is healthy we are proud of our accomplishments. We see them as true expressions of our self. We have the courage to trust the world. We are outgoing, spontaneous and enterprising. Our optimism and confidence make us attractive. A healthy and powerful solar plexus makes us resilient, able to withstand the challenges life presents. Life is hard, but we don’t take it personally. We see every challenge as an opportunity to become stronger and better. This gives us power and people will have faith in us.
With a weak solar plexus we flinch from life. We become a victim and want others to second guess our needs. We feel powerless when those who are more powerful violate our boundaries. But we allow them to do so by not being responsible for our lives. We suppress our anger and do not assert ourselves. Unexpressed anger soon becomes hatred and we can quickly find ourselves isolated. We fear humiliation and defeat. We lack the energy to fight and avoid challenges. The higher meaning here is the courage to fight for our vision. But we must be careful. There is a risk we might over-compensate for our powerlessness and go in the opposite direction, provoking battles to prove our worth.
The ideal model here is the hero.
The Heart Centre and Power
Here, power is linked to our self-esteem and the dignity that comes from the good will. We feel our power and know that our being is essentially good, true and beautiful. We do not have to prove or demonstrate this. It is a fact. We are a unique being with an intrinsic value that cannot be replaced. Realising this we can access the power of unity and connection that stems from a heart appreciative of the unique value of others. Here our inner king and queen radiate generosity, magnanimity and nobility. We know that we come from the highest power and are representatives of the One Self. Knowing this, we act accordingly.
If the heart centre is weak, few will be interested in our visions or want to join us in our cause. We lack what is necessary to inspire them. We are open to manipulation because we do not trust our source. We copy others and follow them, abandoning our own God-given kingdom. We ignore our worth and forgo our birthright. We lack the courage to stand up for ourselves and resist the tide when necessary. We fail to uphold the values we are here to actualise. The higher vision here is the power of love and dignity. The ideal models are the inner king or queen.
The Throat Centre and Power
Here power is linked to our knowledge and our ability to communicate this knowledge. Through this centre we learn how to express who we are and what we know clearly and precisely. Communicating our ideas effectively empowers us. With clear communication we can tell the world who we are, what we believe in, and what we will stand up for. This will help us to relate to others intelligently, which means we can influence the world. We can’t know everything, and what we do know is informed by the knowledge of others, so it is clearly essential that we learn how to communicate and dialogue effectively with others.
When the throat centre is weak we cannot make our case. We are invisible to others, even to ourselves. We don’t know what we believe, so we adopt the opinions of the majority. Our lives are confused and chaotic; our mind lacks order, nothing is clear. Modern education should address this by teaching students critical thinking and an ability to express ideas. We need a healthy throat centre if we are to make our voice heard in the world. When the throat centre is inspired by the Soul, we can communicate values that reach out to the collective. When we speak for the common good we attract great power. The higher vision of this centre is to be a channel for the Soul’s love and wisdom.
The ideal model is the illuminated communicator.
The Brow Centre and Power
Here power meets wisdom and our ability to harmonise the personality with the Soul’s vision. Through this centre we are given a deep insight into the world and a sense of the forces directing evolution. We see everything from a spiritual perspective; everyday reality is informed by Spirit. We grasp complex relationships and understand the inevitable compromises that must take place between ideals and reality. We identify how we might manifest the will of the Soul. This wisdom brings the power to inform the greatest need with the highest good.
When we are weak in the brow centre it means our life is out of balance; it is not whole. We may be too idealistic or too materialistic; either way we are blind to what is essential to our reality. This centre opens relatively late in our development; for many of us this is yet to happen. Nevertheless we need to understand the importance of this centre for the Soul. The higher vision of this centre is the Soul-wise conductor in the world.
The ideal model is the wise woman or man.
The Head Centre and Power
In the head centre power is linked to a perfect and free identity. Here we are beyond personal interest and desires and have entered an eternal transcendent NOW. As we contain all meaning there is nothing we want. Being free of needs gives us the power to commit fully to the needs of the highest good. We are in the world but not of it. In the head centre there unfolds a twelve-petal lotus within the thousand-petalled lotus, releasing a boundless love that includes the whole planet. We are a direct representative of Spirit-in-Action, an incarnation of the divine in flesh. This is the self-sacrificing self, the no-thing containing everything.
Any desire for existence will limit this power. The slightest attachment to life will be threatened by loss. Yet if the energy of the root centre is brought to the head centre our consciousness will expand beyond any ideas of self. We live but without attachment: we are able walk with Jesus to Jerusalem, even if it will mean our own death. This is the ultimate freedom: wanting nothing for oneself, but to be the One Self. Any remnant of self will prevent us from crossing into this austere level; the smallest flicker of ego will keep us at the door. The ideal model here is the perfect liberated human being.
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